I hit a plateau ... need RC study tips Forum

[stckfghtr]

I took the June LSAT & scored a 156. I read the LR Bible & LG Bible, didn't do any RC study the first time around except just taking the practice tests. After I got my score back in July, I re-read both Bibles hoping little details I may have missed the first time around would sink in. Also got the Manhattan RC book & read that. But my tests are still about the same. I've taken 3 since I've re-read all 3 books and got a 156, 158 & 156.

My RC scores are terrible (by my standards). I feel like I read the passages better after having read the Manhattan book but I am really not improving on answering the questions. On the 3 tests I took recently, my RC scores were -12, -14 & -12, respectively. On my June LSAT I got -12 on RC.

Does anyone have any tips on how I can improve RC? I'm going to read through some of the Manhattan book again but it really didn't seem to help me as far as answering questions goes. I feel better about the reading but I'm not getting higher scores ...

Also, does anyone have an opinion on just focusing on improving one section? I'd like to improve all, of course, but I'm taking the October LSAT so if I can just pull the RC score up a bit it would be helpful. My other scores are as follows:

Test 1 (post June LSAT):
LR -6
LG -5
LR -8
RC -12

Test 2 (post June LSAT):
LR -8
LG -2
LR -5
RC -14

Test 3 (post June LSAT):
RC -12
LR -5
LG -5
LR -8

Thanks!

[cfrob14]

RC is by far the most intuitive section and you'll find that for some people it's also the hardest to routinely improve on. The first thing you need to do is identify what question types you're getting wrong. Then do as many passages as you can, placing significant emphasis on those questions. Do the passages untimed if you have to, but puzzle over the questions until you know what the right answer is and why the other answers are wrong.

It takes time, but it isn't something you can't do.

[stckfghtr]

Thank you! I'll try that.

[Moomoo2u]

you should also review how you're taking notes in the margins and ready opnion/science/political articles online and think about the LSAT questions in relation to them (i.e. what words signify the author's opinion? what is his main point? How does his argument work?) etc..

[bp shinners]

Does anyone have any tips on how I can improve RC? I'm going to read through some of the Manhattan book again but it really didn't seem to help me as far as answering questions goes. I feel better about the reading but I'm not getting higher scores ...

Understanding the passage is only step 1 - understanding the questions is a just-as-important (if not even more important) step 2.

Many people think that RC is all about comprehension and the questions are just testing your knowledge of what the passage said. That's not the case anymore. Now, they're testing your comprehension and your reasoning abilities at the same time. The questions have shifted from 'softer' than logical reasoning to just as 'hard' as LR. What I mean by that is the logical requirements for a correct answer are just as high for RC as they are for LR (although RC does have more questions that ask you to make an inference, which lowers that requirements).

When you approach the questions, do so with the same mindset as you do LR. Try to relate the questions to a LR question type and apply the same methods and requirements for a right answer. If a single word throws the answer off, disregard it, as it's not correct. I've seen shifting one's focus like this yield pretty large results very quickly on RC.

[TrojanHopeful]

Take a look at this. Just another way of going about reading comp. Might be helpful for you, might not.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=163764

[stckfghtr]

Thanks everyone!